Collateral Damage
by LiaGrace
Summary: Everyone has their own deepest darkest secret and when Amelia Shepherds daughter Rosie's secret nearly kills her, it effects more people than she'd ever of thought. As a healer, it's a surgeons job to fix the broken, and perhaps more damage is done when it comes to fixing Rosie. The problem with her? She doesn't want to be saved.
1. Chapter 1

_Collateral Damage_

 _Everyone has their own deepest darkest secret and we're programmed, as human beings to hold on to them and sometimes irrationally so. When Rosie Shepherd's secret nearly kills her, it effects more people than she'd ever of thought._

 _As a healer, it's a surgeons job to fix the broken, and perhaps more damage is down when it comes to fixing Rosie. The problem with her? She doesn't want to be saved._

 **Disclaimer - I do not own Grey's Anatomy or its characters nor am I making a profit from this work.**

 **A/N - This (Slightly AU) story starts in LA with Amelia and her daughter Rosie and will move to Seattle in a couple of chapters.**

 **Please drop your thoughts in a review at the end!**

 **Enjoy x**

Future plans were being talked of once again and Rosie gave a deep sigh. From her place in her bedroom she could hear the muffled voices coming from the living area where her mother and her aunt sat. It was then, in her place of eavesdropping that she heard Seattle pop up and when it did again, Rosie bit her lip in worry.

Her uncle, Derek and one of her aunts, Meredith lived there with their perfect daughter, Clara.

The two girls had always gotten on reasonably well, with Rosie being a year older, and the grade above her. They hadn't visited in a while and perhaps, Rosie thought, they were going to soon.

With that hope in mind, she noticed the time which was now drawing on 11pm and with another sigh, she got up from her place on the floor that she'd found was the best spot for listening to conversations she'd been shoo'd from.

Sleep overcame Rosie easily that night, despite the thoughts troubling her mind, but a little after 2 in the morning she awoke in a cold sweat, the fear of the unknown almost too much to bear.

That morning at breakfast, Rosie had to stop herself from blurting out all the questions she had and she managed until she had a bit of toast in her mouth and Amelia spoke.

"We're going to Seattle." She said softly, turning to face Rosie with a cautious expression on her face.

After chewing her mouthful, Rosie replied, not understanding what the concern was for. "Yeah? Well we haven't been in a while I suppose. When are we going?"

At Amelia's shake of her head, it was Rosie's turn to show a concerned look.

"We're not going on holiday Rosie. We're moving."

Choking on her coffee, Rosie stood. She wasn't angry, just confused. Okay, maybe a little angry, but that couldn't be helped at a time like this.

"How can you just say that?" She snapped.

"We need a fresh start." Amelia said before continuing as Rosie opened her mouth. "Rosie, I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for the best. Addie agrees."

"What's there to agree with? Everything is perfectly fine the way it is." The teenager shook her head stubbornly, not even wanting to hear what her mother had to say. Whatever her reason was, surely it didn't equate to the need to move?

Checking the time, Amelia gave a sigh and eyed her daughter who was currently staring at her, an expression mixed with both anger and hurt. Eventually Rosie got the point and moved up to her room to get changed, pulling on a pair of burgundy jeans and a navy shirt to match, throwing her brunette hair over her shoulder as she grabbed a pair of slip on vans and slinging her bag over her arm as she hurried back down the stairs.

What did moving to Seattle even mean. Was this about her? How was she expected to just pick up everything and move, her life was in LA and so was her family. The medical practice her mother worked at anyway, the doctors there were like her family – they meant everything to one another.

Perhaps she had a chance of understanding Amelia's seemingly abrupt decision if she asked the right questions and with that in mind, she paused on the last of the stairs and forced a smile on her face

The two left their beachside house and after a moment when they'd slipped into the slowing traffic of LA, Rosie had a chance to think of what to say.

"I really wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for the best you know? You and Clara get on like a house on fire anyway, don't you?"

"What does Clara have to do with it?" Rosie shot back quickly, forgetting everything else for the moment. It was true, the two did get on okay. But the last time they'd been in Seattle Clara had been in a mood the whole time and Rosie had either gotten the silent treatment or been attacked by snappy remarks. Amelia bringing up Clara must mean we were staying at the other Shepherds' gigantic mansion of a house on their huge plot of land.

She wasn't going to complain though, she loved it there. The only thing that seemed to scare her about moving there at this point was living with Clara.

Clara was a cheerleader for her school in Seattle and her friends, although seemed lovely, put a great amount of pressure on both themselves, and each other. Not long after meeting them Rosie had figured this was what put Clara in such a stressed mood each night. There was also a large amount of pressure that came from being the child of two brilliant surgeons and she could understand her in that respect.

"You know I got a call from one of your teachers the other day?" Amelia asked bringing Rosie back to the present moment, and she shrank down in her seat as she glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Must've been a misunderstanding." Rosie gave a shaky laugh, not really knowing what it would have been exactly about.

Yet again, maybe that was a lie.

"We'll talk about it later, young lady." She spoke in what was meant to be a threatening voice, but Rosie couldn't help bursting into laughter. She didn't know if it was nerves or not, but a second later Amelia let out a laugh of her own and Rosie felt a sense of relief wash over her. If Amelia were laughing about it, it couldn't be that bad, could it?

Amelia was like that for the most part. If shit hit the fan, she could usually go to her and they'd get it sorted. There was only the odd time where she'd get angry, but most of the time we really did have a good relationship.

That was one thing Rosie was grateful about. However, not everything in her life had been straightforward and easy and yet was she to find out, it was about to become ever more complicated.

Life was like that though, filled with moments of utmost confusion, that were terrifying to face at the time and seemingly unexplainable. Maybe this was simply one of those times for Rosie. Perhaps she would talk to her mother later that evening and everything would be straightened out and they wouldn't have to move.

The last lesson of the day came round slowly for Rosie and as she sat in her Biology class, listening to her teacher drag out his lecture on cells, she found herself checking her Facebook messages again.

Earlier that day, despite the thought that Clara probably didn't want to hear from her, she'd sent the younger girl a quick message asking if she'd heard that they were coming to stay. Rosie didn't come across a reply from Clara, but there was a new text from her mother and that was never a sign of good news.

Rosie was halfway through reading it when she felt the girl next to her elbow her in the side. Looking up, she realised that the teacher was making his way round the room, asking people questions at random. Giving a grateful smile to the blonde next to her, she shoved her phone back in her pocket.

 **x**

Amelia was to finish work at St. Ambrose hospital at 5 that evening and the text Rosie had received told her that she was to wait in her office at the Seaside Wellness Medical Centre and stay there until she was picked up.

Rosie was lucky really, that the walk to her mother's work was so close to her school. Well, that had really been why the two had picked it. It was convenient. As soon as class had ended, Rosie had stuffed her Biology homework into her bag and had hurried out of the school, in dire need to try and talk to Addison.

Growing up, Addison Montgomery had been like a second mother to Rosie and whenever Amelia wasn't around, Addison was. With those memories playing in her mind, Rosie pushed the sick feeling in her tummy aside, speeding up as she crossed the street and checked the time.

As soon as she arrived at the practice, she hurried down to her Mother's office, and checking it was empty, she made her way inside and placed her bag on the couch that sat against one wall. She didn't even have to leave the room before Addison appeared, her red hair pulled back into a tight ponytail.

"Hey Rosie" She spoke as she came through the door, and the teenager fought the urge to burst into tears at the thought of leaving this place.

"We're leaving aren't we? Me and Mom." Rosie said softly and when Addison sat down, she knew she had her answer. "I don't want to leave." She continued, tearfully and suddenly she felt like a small child again.

Almost mechanically sitting down, she pulled a cushion into her grasp. Deciding she wouldn't let herself cry, wouldn't let herself feel until she understood.

"She hasn't decided yet..." A spark of hope crossed Rosie and she heard what else Addison continued to say at the fact she still had a chance to change Amelia's mind.

"I just want to know why." Rosie said in a whine, and at that, Addison gave a small smile and moved to sit next to her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"I'll let Amelia lay down the facts." Addison decided and Rosie pulled a distraught face, but instinctively leant closer to her aunt.

After a moment of silence the teenager pulled back. "Is it me or her?"

Addison looked at her hands before facing her niece again. "A bit of both, sweetie."

Before Rosie had a chance to get any more information from her, Addison's pager beeped and she stood, giving Rosie one last hug and a kiss on the top of head before hurrying out of Amelia's office.

Rosie stood watching as the door swung back closed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this alone and in the dark.

 **x**

Time went by painfully slowly, and as it drew near 5pm, Rosie found herself pacing back and forth in hopes of keeping a lid of her bubbling anxiety levels.

She jumped when the door swung open and her mother collapsed into the chair closest to the door. The fact she looked exhausted didn't help Rosie in the slightest. Her begging at this point, would have to be minimal and much like her mother, Rosie had the ability of turning into a drama queen at a minimalistic situation.

Crossing her arms over her chest protectively she sat down.

"Can you please tell me now? I think I deserve to know." Rosie thought she'd burst if she didn't find out what was happening and when Amelia straightened up, she knew that there was a possibility for it to be bad news.

"So I got a call from your home room teacher the day before last." Rosie rolled her eyes at her mother's cryptic words, all the while, thinking back to Tuesday.

Nothing had happened on Tuesday. Or Monday for that matter

 _Oh._

"We didn't speak for long, but she got to tell me her concerns. " Amelia watched her daughter pull her knees to her chest and gave a small sigh, thinking that perhaps she should have waited till they'd gotten home to bring all this up.

"She told me that one of your friends, Lucy… Came to her and told her that you were being 'bullied' by another girl in your class." She spoke very matter of factly, simply wanting to hear her daughters side of the story before making any more judgment calls. It seemed very out of character for Rosie to take any

kind of crap from anyone. But even to herself, she had to admit that her daughter had been distancing herself ever so slightly from her. Not going into detail about her days or how she was. It made sense in some strange kind of way.

"Oh, well I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding." Rosie gave a shaky laugh, hiding her trembling hands. Rosie couldn't believe she'd let it get this far and suddenly found herself wishing she'd said something at the first straw.

 _Now it was really over._

"Can we just go home?" She murmured in hopes of delaying the inevitable. Surely Amelia wouldn't make the two of them move just because of some trouble at school, it didn't seem nearly drastic enough for those kinds of measures.

Rosie really needed to plan what she was, and needed to say. The only way she could do this at the current moment was the car ride home and she was going to take whatever time she had.

"You sure?" Amelia asked quietly and Rosie noted the seemingly serious tone to her voice. The teenager didn't know what her friend had told their teacher, or what had been told to her mother and knowing her luck, knew she'd end up saying something that hadn't.

 **x**

The drive home was unbearable and Rosie found herself coming up with lies, things she could slip into the story that would ease the burden of it.

She was getting picked on at school. That was it really, but she was nearly 17 and surely at 17, one should be able to deal with some pathetic bully without their mothers help.

Rosie's internal monologue loudened at that point as two sides of her voice battled out the decision she was going to have to come to.

Was she to lay the facts down on the table and be truthful, or was she to protect both herself and possibly her mother and simply… Lie?

 _It's easy to throw curveballs at others but it is much harder to miss them, and that's the fun of it, isn't it, trying to dodge these moments?_

 _The fun's taken out of it of course, when you're winded with the blow of such a disorientating hit that you can't see straight. The message is far from reaching your brain and panic ensues. All you can do in moments like these is take a breath and tell yourself you'll be okay, even if you think otherwise. In these times, where you cannot get any hold on the reality of the situation you simply have to rely on your survival instincts. Your most raw feelings and thoughts. And only once you have reached this state of desperation will you get through it and it is in these moments when you find out who you truly are._

 _Will you fight, or will you simply take the blow?_

 **Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter will be up in the next week or so.**

 **Generally speaking, the more reviews I get the faster I upload...!**

 **So any thoughts / suggestions are most welcome**

 **Thanks for reading,**

 **Liv x**


	2. Chapter 2

_Collateral Damage_

 _Everyone has their own deepest darkest secret and we're programmed, as human beings to hold on to them and sometimes irrationally so. When Rosie Shepherd's secret nearly kills her, it effects more people than she'd ever of thought._

 _As a healer, it's a surgeons job to fix the broken, and perhaps more damage is down when it comes to fixing Rosie. The problem with her? She doesn't want to be saved._

 **Disclaimer - I do not own Grey's Anatomy or its characters nor am I making a profit from this work.**

 **Thank you so much for the reviews! (Stoneromy and Cat0896) and for ya'll that followed and favorited!**

 **Your support goes a long way...**

 **Here's chapter 2 - Amelia and Rosie will be leaving in the next chapter or two, so Seattle is in sight!**

 **Please drop your thoughts in a review at the end!**

 **Enjoy x**

 _Lying is inevitable in this world. At some point or another, whether we accept it or not, we've told a lie. Some of them slip past without us batting an eyelid. But some of those lies? They stay with us forever._

 _Do we regret telling them? Or do we simply regret being put into a situation where it's become a survival instinct and we find ourselves needing to do so?_

 _We lie and we tell the truth. Sometimes, the truth has the capacity to hurt someone far more than a lie will hurt ourselves._

 _Maybe that's why we do it, to protect those we love, and surely that's excusable?_

Lying was pointless and Rosie decided that she was going to come clean about it all as she followed her mother to the front door of their house. Fighting the urge to run to her room and hide, she made her way to the couch and sat down, wringing her hands together.

"I swear it's not as bad as it's been made out to be." Rosie instantly blurted out as Amelia took a place on the couch next to her. The teenager didn't know why this seemed so different than any other time where she'd needed her mothers advice. At Amelia's comforting smile however, she gave a sigh.

"Tell me what you know and I'll fill in the blanks then." She gave in, defeated. It was best to get it out of the way and know where she stood.

As Amelia told her what she knew, her thoughts drifted about in the vicinity of her mind. LA was great. Her life was here. Almost every morning she'd run along the beach on the damp sand before school and every time she thought about the city she loved, her heart warmed, like the black hotness of the asphalt footpaths that intertwined the buildings.

It was home. Seattle simply, wasn't.

"That's pretty much it." Rosie said slowly when she realised her mother had finished and Amelia gave a sad sounding sigh.

"I didn't think it was this bad, sweetie." Amelia wrapped her arms around her daughter, holding her as tightly as she could, the thought of someone trying to hurt her baby nearly bringing her to tears.

The truth however, did bring Rosie to tears. They weren't sad but rather numb. Despite having a happy amount of great friends, she'd always managed to be the target of a bigger person, a bully. It had never been that bad and she'd never found herself to be all that effected by it.

As a child, and growing up Rosie had been a rather confident person, but she was one that could be easily manipulated and this hadn't proved to be such a positive attribute in her years.

Lucy. That was her next concern. What was she going to say to her _best friend?_ How was she meant to explain that what her friend had caused was going to split them apart?

"It's okay mom. We don't have to move. I'll be okay. It'll be okay. Okay. Okay. Okay." She honestly felt pathetic, but she couldn't help herself. Maybe it all would be okay. Perhaps it would be okay in Seattle, but they weren't there yet.

"How long's it been happening, Rosie?" Amelia pulled back to look at her daughter, who shook her head. She found herself remembering the time when Rosie was only 7, and at parent – teacher interview, her daughter's teacher had informed her that one of the boys in the class had teased her. At that age, Rosie hadn't cared and had asked the boy if he wanted to play with her the next day. A typical kid. But she wasn't a kid anymore. She was a 16 year old girl, and bullying wasn't just a stage of life. It led to thoughts and feelings that Amelia didn't want to think about her daughter having. It was heartbreaking for Amelia, to hear that she was going through this.

"A while." Rosie replied softly, and as she saw her mother raise an eyebrow she hurried to continue, "But it's okay, really."

"None of this is okay." Amelia spoke a little harshly. "I don't want to lose you, okay?" She then said and her words caught Rosie by surprise.

"What? Why Seattle though?" A shot of concern hit her when her mother gave her a serious look and the teenager held her breath as her mother went to reply.

"Derek's doing research work in DC at the moment and he can't be in two places at once. He asked if I wanted to work at _Grey Sloan Memorial_ and that gives me the potential to be head of the neuro department, which is a _huge_ deal."

So this wasn't just about her, but Rosie wasn't angry, she was curious however, as to why this hadn't been brought up sooner.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I said no. Originally I told him that I couldn't ask you to move to rainy ol' Seattle for a job promotion. But when I got that call from your teacher, it got me thinking. Maybe a fresh start would do us both good eh?" The fact Amelia questioned Rosie scared her a bit, this meant she was being asked her thoughts, and this time, not selfish ones.

It wasn't just about her. It was about the two of them and that was what made Rosie's mouth twitch into a half smile.

"Can we at least give it a trial run?"

"Of course, honey. If we hate it, we can always move back to LA. I know this isn't easy…"

"It isn't easy for you either." Rosie cut her off. "Sometimes risks have to be taken." She shrugged, giving a small laugh as her mother pulled her into another hug.

"When do we leave?" Rosie felt better about it now. It still didn't make the idea of moving, of leaving her home any easier but her mind was at ease. It was for the good of their family, their tiny family that they were to move and Rosie could live with that.

Seattle would be okay and so would they. They still had each other and that made it so.

"Sunday night." Amelia replied quietly.

"So soon?" Rosie went to say, but it came out as more of a squeak. It was soon and it only gave Rosie three more days in LA. Three painstaking days to say goodbye to those she loved dearly. Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

It was sudden, and Rosie found herself to be in shock. What if no one liked her at school in Seattle? What if Clara hated her? What if Amelia turned into the mother she said she'd never become – Always at work?

What Rosie was most scared of, was being alone.

She'd never been alone, not really.

 _It was all going to be okay._

 _Family and love, being loved had the power of fixing everything in a time like this._

Day one of three, Friday. It was potentially her last day at the school she'd made so many of her memories at.

Lucy was quieter than normal as Rosie sat down at their usual spot in the cafeteria at lunch. Friday of course, was the one day where they had no classes together apart from their lunch period,

"Hey" Lucy then spoke, looking up from her salad.

"Hey, Luce. I've got something to tell you." Rosie got straight to the point. She didn't have long and she had no idea how her friend would react to such news. She'd been alright the time her and her mother had needed to leave for a just over a month, but this could very well be permanent and _that_ was completely different.

"Oh?" Lucy pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, facing Rosie with a confused and nervous look on her face.

"We're moving. Mom and I." She didn't get to say much else, as Lucy flung her arms around her and slightly surprised, Rosie hugged her back.

"That's awful." Lucy finally said, and looked even more confused when Rosie gave a small smile and shook her head. "How are you okay with this? It's not because of me is it? I wasn't going to say anything, but I was worried about you."

"It's not because of you Luce. It's not just about me this time anyway and it might not even be forever."

Lucy gave a shrug at that and Rosie knew she felt terrible and probably a little guilty. "So when do you leave? Seattle right…?"

The brunette gulped before saying slowly, "Sunday night."

"So soon!? You can live with me if you want, you know my parents love you. Please don't go. We can sort out Erin and her bitches. Please Rosie, you're my best friend." Her stubborn pleading almost won Rosie over, as she thought about her family at the practice and how much she'd miss all them and their soap-opera worthy moments. It was so very tempting, but so was the thought of a fresh start, and after having thought about it all night Rosie believed, that was what she needed.

"We'll still text and call each other all the time, and Skype. You know how close Mom and I are, I can't just throw that away."

At Lucy's glum face, Rosie placed a hand on her shoulder, "It'll be okay, I promise." After a moment of silence Lucy gave another smile and spoke as Rosie twisted the cap off of her bottle of water.

"Are we still on for our sleepover tonight then?" Rosie couldn't say no to her, even if she should probably be starting to pack.

Packing could wait however, her best friend couldn't.

Ever since they'd become friends, their Friday sleepover had become a weekly occurrence. They always had it at Rosie's house as Lucy's home situation wasn't the best, with three brothers and two parents that spent almost every waking moment fighting. They were left to their own devices at the Shepherd residence.

"Of course!" Rosie laughed and the two hugged again before settling down to finish their lunches before the next class.

Rosie had no one else to tell about her grand move, apart from her lab partner in Chemistry, who seemed most upset – Probably due to Rosie being the one to do most of the work when they had experiments to conduct.

Her teachers all said they'd be sorry to see her leave, and that they wished her the best for her life in Seattle. One of them made a joke about the rainy weather.

It was so bad, Rosie hadn't made any effort in remembering it.

By the end of her last class, Rosie felt ready to leave.

It was just everyone at the practice to say goodbye to now. That would be hell, for both her and her mother. They'd planned to do that on Saturday, although Amelia had already told them all.

 **x**

Rosie and Lucy's sleepover was better than any other. They went swimming in the sea, which turned into a water fight, they sunbathed out on the deck in the lowering sun and halfway through that Rosie had gone back inside to make the two virgin margarita's. Because, why not? Also, there was no alcohol in the house to make anything more exciting then that.

The two laughed and joked, ordered pizza, watched a movie, danced to their favourite song in Rosie's room and at 3 in the morning, they finally settled in Rosie's bed to go to sleep.

"You know what?" Lucy muttered sleepily from her side of the bed and Rosie gave a sigh.

"Yeah?" She said back and Lucy turned to face her.

"You're kinda my person, ya know?" She whispered with a small smile to which Rosie returned before speaking.

"You're kind of my person to."

With that, the two fell into a light sleep, the idea of saying goodbye in the morning not one to be thought of after such a good night.

 **Hope you enjoyed - Chapter three will be up soon**

 **Let me know any thoughts or ideas in a review!**

 **Thanks for reading,**

 **Liv x**


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